


Unexpected Love

by I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-21 01:17:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3672057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins/pseuds/I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bit of a one-shot styled thing showcasing a bit of Alistair and Leliana in a romantic, but non smutty, setting. Lots of fluff. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Love

Leliana tucked a short strand of hair behind her ear and watched as Alistair sat morosely by the lake. The undead had stopped attacking hours ago. Eilonwy had sent word that the demon had been defeated, though no one had told them what the details were. Ser Perth and his men had escorted Bann Teagan to the castle a few moments ago. The village had been saved. Most everyone was celebrating.

She frowned as she continued to watch Alistair. He just stared up at the castle, a forlorn expression on his face. She walked over to him, hoping to cheer him up. That somber look just didn't suit him.

Alistair heard her approach and glanced over his shoulder. "You know, this lake used to be much more beautiful. Full of fish and bright, and the ghoul population was dismal at best," he quipped, hoping to make her laugh.

She smiled at his cheesy joke. "Oh? I thought the ghouls were always a part of the lake, yes?" she replied, giggling.

She sat down next to Alistair, and noticed that behind his jokes and laughter, he still looked very tired and sad. "What is wrong, Alistair?" she asked, brow furrowed in concern.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing," he muttered.

Leliana shook her head. "Liar. And you're not even good at it," she replied.

He stayed silent a moment, not really sure what to say. "...Nothing you'd be interested in," he answered finally.

"Try me, you might be surprised." Her voice was gentle, soothing, but Alistair felt nervous despite that. He didn't want her to think he was whining when so much more was at stake. He didn't want her to hate him, anything but that.

He cleared his throat and tried to change the subject, instead. "So, how're you holding up? Craving bugs, maybe?"

She crinkled her nose and playfully smacked at his arm. "Bleh. Don't say such things," she replied with a laugh.

He smiled, glad to have made her laugh, before turning back to the lake. He grabbed a pebble and threw it out across the water, watching it bounce along the surface, causing tiny ripples and splashes.

Leliana touched his arm, her small hand warm and comforting. "I'm scared, too," she whispered encouragingly.

Alistair ran his fingers through his hair and over his face, trying to collect himself. "I grew up here. First in the stable at the castle and later at the Chantry. I did my templar training here. This was the only home I ever knew. And I hated it," he confessed. He stopped to take a deep breath. "Eamon, he was good to me. As good as he could be, given the circumstances. It's not like he asked to saddled with Maric's bastard." His voice sounded bitter, even to him.

He stared across the lake, the sun still low in the sky. The castle stood tall and proud, the way he remembered it. The village wasn't much different either. A bit more worn down, a bit more broken, but otherwise much the same. He took the control rod out of his pocket and twiddled it between his fingers. Of course the Chantry was the same. Chantries never changed.

Leliana stayed silent, and her eyes watched him attentively. He cleared his throat before continuing. "I never really felt I belonged anywhere, you know? And then Duncan came along… I was at home with the Wardens. But it's all different now. They're gone. Cailan… Duncan… just gone. I guess I sound pretty stupid, don't I?" he muttered, placing his head in one hand.

She bit her lip. "I don't think it's stupid to miss people you care about, Alistair," she replied. "It's natural to grieve."

He looked at her intensely, and almost a little helplessly. "But how do you stop once you start?"

"You don't," she replied, but smiled to soften her words. "You just become accustomed to the pain, I think, and you find comfort in those around you."

Alistair laughed and clutched at his chest jokingly. "Ah, but I'm not sure my tender heart can take it," he quipped, leaning sideways and pretending to faint into her lap.

Leliana caught him and laughed. "You are a wonderful idiot," she replied, looking down at his smiling face.

He blushed, realizing how close he was to her. He gulped and sat up quickly, looking down at his hands before speaking. "I'm not used to hearing the 'wonderful' part attached to that," he admitted. "At least, not by such a beautiful woman as yourself." He blushed again at his own daring.

Leliana's eyes widened and her hand went up and touched her shorn hair. Once, she would have expected the compliment. But that was before she cut off her hair and wore plain clothes and no mask. "You think I'm beautiful?" she asked.

Alistair flinched, aware of how bad he was at talking with people, women especially. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have said that. You're a Sister and I'm just a Grey Warden bastard…" he trailed off, cursing himself for his own stupidity.

Leliana leaned forward and kissed his cheek quickly. "I'm flattered, Alistair. You're sweet, and honest," she replied. "And very handsome."

Alistair turned and looked at her. She thought he was handsome? A beautiful girl like her thought he was handsome? His heartbeat quickened slightly as he stared into her clear blue eyes.

She smiled and stood up. Reaching a hand down in his direction, she spoke. "Come. While we wait, perhaps we can find ourselves a golem, yes?" She looked pointedly at the control rod in his hand.

He smiled back and grabbed her hand as he got to his feet. He held the rod up and looked at it. "Yes, I suppose I should show I'm capable of some initiative, right?" he asked dryly.

Leliana just shook her head. "Don't be so down on yourself. You're not as bad as you think you are," she replied.

Alistair chuckled. "As bad, huh? Does that mean I'm just a little bit bad?" he joked.

She giggled, one hand covering her mouth. "That's not what I meant, and you well know it."

Alistair smiled and began walking towards Murdock. He was standing in the center of the village, staring at a little boy playing happily with his toys. A woman with graying blonde hair stood next to him, one arm looped through his.

Alistair lifted his arm and waved. "Murdock! I'm sorry to interrupt while you're with your family…" he began.

Murdock shook his head and his mustache twitched. "No, not all. What do you need?" he asked gruffly.

Alistair scratched the top of his head. "Well, I was wondering if you might know where I can find a golem around here?"

Murdock nodded. "Aye, I do. Check with Matthias. He lives next to Bella's house; I reckon you remember where that is."

Alistair nodded his thanks and turned back towards the lake. As he walked, Leliana followed quietly at his side. He could hear her humming under her breath, and smiled. He supposed if he had to wait, at least it was with her.

The sun had began to rise a little bit more, warming the back of Alistair's neck. He reached Matthias's door and knocked. He heard the pitter-patter of small feet running across a wooden floor and the door flung open.

A little girl with blonde pigtails and a light pink dress blinked up at them, a smear of jelly on her cheek. "Hi! I'm Amalia. Are you here to have lunch with us?" she asked.

Leliana smiled and knelt down. "No, sweetheart. We're here to see your father, Matthias," she replied, tweaking the girl's nose.

"Oh," Amalia said and giggled.

A man came up behind her and looked at Leliana and Alistair curiously. "Hello. Who are you?" he asked.

Alistair cleared his throat and introduced himself and Leliana. "Murdock told us to come to you about a golem?" he asked, after the introductions.

Matthias frowned and motioned them to come inside. "You must mean Shale. Blasted thing killed my father and then froze. Been stuck in my bloody basement ever since."

Leliana gasped. "Killed your father? Oh my!" she exclaimed.

"Uh, yes, well, do you mind if we, uh, take it with us?" Alistair asked.

Matthias raised his brows and just stared at him for a moment. "Huh. Well, I don't know what you want with the damnable thing, but sure. Just… my daughter and me, we'll go somewhere else while you activate it."

Alistair held out a hand. "Wait, is there anything I should know?"

Matthias shook his head and grabbed their cloaks. "Just waved the rod at it and say 'Dulen Harn'. You'll be fine. Probably," he replied. He handed his daughter her cloak. "Come on, butterfly. Let's go visit the Chantry, alright?"

Amalia rolled her eyes and put on her cloak. "You're such a worrywart, Da."

Matthias just shooed her out the door, and cast a final look back at them. He shook his head and muttered something Alistair couldn't hear and shut the door.

He turned to Leliana and rubbed his hands together. "Down to the creepy basement, eh? What an adventure!" he glibbed.

Leliana laughed and rushed towards the basement door. "Come on, then! I can't wait to see what a real golem looks like!" she said excitedly.

Alistair stared after her in amazement. She was actually excited to venture into a stranger's basement in search of a possibly murderous golem. She must be crazy, he thought to himself with a smile.

As they ventured down the narrow stairway, Alistair tried to keep his eyes from watching her swaying hips as she walked. He mentally slapped himself and focused on his feet instead. She was a Sister of the Faith. She was a Sister of the Faith. He kept repeating that over and over again, trying with increasing difficulty not to think of Leliana as 'more than a friend.'

He sighed. He was hopeless. He always fell for the ones he didn't have a chance with. First Bella, all that time ago. He had cared for her, but she had loved Teagan. Lucky bastard. And now he had a bloody crush on a Chantry Sister. Maybe he was a fool, like Morrigan said.

Suddenly Leliana stopped in tracks. "Alistair, Alistair, look!" she gasped, pointing in front of her.

Alistair stood next to her and looked where she was pointing. A Golem, arms raised, stood in the center of a large room. Crystal shards grew out of the walls, making the room glow.

Alistair gulped and stepped forward. "I wonder if it's aware?" he mumbled aloud.

Leliana shook her head and laid a hand on the golem. "I am not sure. Poor thing. If it is aware, it must be really, really bored," she said.

He chuckled and motioned her to stand behind him. She scurried over and he waved the rod over the golem. "Dulen Harn," he said, his voice as firm as he could make it.

The ground shook beneath their feet and a loud rumbling sound roared in their ears. The golem trembled and growled, before shaking free of the invisible bonds that held it.

It moved it's head, looked around and then stared at the two creatures in front of it. "I have been awoken? Yes, it would seem so. At least I can be grateful it is not a mage that woke me," it grumbled, it's voice deep and gravelly.

Alistair rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yes. I'm definitely not a mage. Um, so, now what?" he asked lamely, not really sure what to do with the golem now that he had woken the thing up.

Shale looked down at the squishy humans and glared. "It does have the control rod, yes? It must, I see it there in it's puny little hand. Go on then, order me to do something," the golem demanded.

Leliana nudged Alistair with her elbow. "I don't like the sound of that," she whispered.

Alistair shrugged. "Um, dance the Remigold, golem!" he commanded, much to Leliana's amusement.

She giggled into her hand. "A dancing golem? Oh, that will be fun to see!" she said.

Shale stared at them, a stony eyebrow raised. "I feel no compulsion to comply with your demands, human. I am… free."

Alistair's eyes widened nervously. "Oh, well, that's wonderful. What are you going to do with that freedom, golem?"

"My name is Shale," it answered, irritation clear in it's voice. "And I do not know, yet. I have been asleep for oh so very long. I don't even know what the world is like, outside of this room."

He nodded quickly. "Right, Shale. Matthias said that was what they called you. Well then, right now the world is crawling with darkspawn, so there isn't really much to do," Alistair replied dryly.

Shale took a step forward. "Dark… spawn. Yes. I remember those creatures. They are almost as evil as those foul birds," it growled.

Leliana raised both brows. "Birds? You hate birds? Maker's blessing, but why?"

"They are evil cretins that defecate wherever they please. I say we crush them all," it roared. "Until then, I shall kill these darkspawn things, I think."

Leliana smiled at Alistair and winked. Alistair grinned back and cleared his throat. "Well, if you're really interested in killing darkspawn, you could travel with my companions and me. We're Grey Wardens; it's our duty to kill darkspawn."

Shale considered this for a moment before nodding its head. "Yes, that is… adequate."

Alistair looked at Leliana. "Here that? We're adequate," he said, making her laugh again.

Shale stomped on ahead of them, clomping up the stairs. Alistair flinched, and prayed they wouldn't break under the weight of the golem. When they reached the center of the village again, Bann Teagan was waiting for them.

He waved at Alistair, a sad expression on his face. As Alistair got closer, he could see the red in Teagan's eyes that indicated he had been crying. Bella was at his side, holding his hand and looking up at him with sadness.

Alistair frowned. "Teagan, you've returned from the castle already?" he asked.

Teagan nodded and took a deep breath. "Yes. You're needed there. Lady Eilonwy needs to speak with you, urgently," he answered.

Alistair scratched his head. "Alright," he responded slowly. "Why the long face, Teagan? I thought the demon had been slain?"

Teagan flinched and a tear fell from Bella's eyes. "Yes, but the demon had possessed Connor at the time of it's death."

Alistair's mouth fell open as he registered what Teagan had just said. That meant… Connor was dead. "Who…?"

"Lady Eilonwy was the one who slew the demon," Teagan said.

Alistair clenched his jaw, as anger flowed through him. She shouldn't have done that. If he had been there, he might have been able to save the boy. He was trained as a templar, surely there was something he could have done.

Teagan saw Alistair's face turn red and laid a hand on his arm. "She had no choice, Alistair," he said softly.

Alistair turned away abruptly and stormed towards the castle. Connor was dead. Eamon's son, Eamon's real son, was dead. He owed the Arl more than that, he thought bitterly.

Leliana raced after him, hoping he wasn't about to do something rash.

~*~*~

"What in the void is wrong with you? How could you kill an innocent boy?" Alistair bellowed, the sound vibrating with rage and sorrow.

Eilonwy's eyes widened. "You weren't there, you didn-" she began.

Alistair cut her off, his temper getting the better of him for once. "Do you even feel anything? Ever?" he asked.

Melina heard a sharp intake of breath from Eilonwy. The shorter woman clenched her fists tightly and Melina could feel the pain, like a sharp blade, as Eilonwy turned around abruptly and walked away. Ser Perth opened the door to the main hall and Eilonwy disappeared, but the bitter pain stayed behind in traces, like a thin film on top of Melina's skin.

Her cousin glared at Alistair, upper lip curled. "You stupid git. You have no bloody idea what you're even talking about. I should hit you for what you just said." He shook his head and glanced towards the doors. "Fucking bastard, it's not even worth it," he muttered and followed after Eilonwy.

Leliana stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Alistair's shoulder and his face crumpled. The anger left him almost as suddenly as it had come, and in it's place left a hollow ache.

 

"I should have been there. I should have done something," Alistair whispered, head bowed and tears welling up in his eyes.

Leliana hesitated. The Divine's order had been to watch. Observe. Maybe give a gentle push, to lead them in the right direction. Gather secrets and information.

She wasn't supposed to get close to her target. She wasn't supposed to want to help the gentle Templar, the man the Most Holy wanted as King, if only because he was said to be biddable, and easily swayed towards the Chantry.

She leaned her forehead against his back. "There was nothing you could have done, Alistair. I'm so sorry," she whispered.

His shoulders slumped further and he blinked back the tears. "But what if-"

Leliana cut him off, but her voice was gentle. "There is no point in wondering "What if", Alistair. They say he was a demon, an abomination. There was nothing you, or she, could have done. It is… horrible, the tragedies that happened here." She took a deep breath and continued, head still resting on his back. "I know you're hurting…"

Alistair stepped away. "I was jealous of him. He was just a little boy, but a part of me wished he hadn't been here. Maybe then, the Arl wouldn't have sent me away." He wasn't sure why he was saying all of this, now. It was like he was confessing. His greatest sin. Jealousy.

Leliana reach out again, hand grabbing his. He looked down at in, eyebrows arched and eyes wide. She squeezed it gently. She didn't say anything. Words weren't going to heal his pain.

She wrapped her other arm around his midsection from behind, still holding his hand, and held him. She rested her cheek on his back and held him tight. He gripped her hand and she could feel his body shaking slightly.

She continued to hold him, and the silence wasn't the heavy kind. It was soft, and comforting, and warm. It was exactly what they both needed. Simple silence while they stayed pressed together, front to back, hand to hand.

 

~*~*~

 

Arrows whizzed through the air, one after another in rapid succession. The muscles in Leliana's arms ached with pain but she ignored it as she continued practicing in Castle Redcliffe's courtyard. Thoughts whirled through her mind, mostly involving the feel of Alistair's hand in hers.

Maker's breath, but she couldn't fall for him. She was here only to see through the mission the Divine had given her. Alistair had almost belonged to the Chantry but the Grey Wardens had ruined The Divine's plan. Or, more importantly, Dorothea's plan. If they had a potential Fereldan noble on their side, It would strengthen Dorothea's bid to become the next Divine. And then they could begin her plan for peace and change. Tension between the mages and templars have been rising for years, and Dorothea knew it. Now, if Alistair could become king, they could use that to their advantage, instead.

Which means she needed to keep her heart out of the equation. Love would only complicate matters further. She pulled back on her bow, letting another arrow fly as she tried to rid her mind of the image of Alistair smiling at her.

She dropped her bow to her side and sighed heavily. This was not helping. She needed to remember that she was going to be the Divine's Left Hand, once Dorothea took the Sunburst Throne, and Alistair was the future King of Ferelden.

"Hey," a voice said from behind her.

She spun around and saw Alistair, hair matted with sweat, and a bashful smile on his face. She struggled between wanting to smile back and wanting to frown up at the man. Did he really have to look so handsome when she was trying to rid herself of impure thoughts? She settled on looking away, focusing on fidgeting with the feather on her arrow.

"Hey," she replied, frowning inwardly. Some bard she was, when all she could think of to say was 'hey'.

Alistair took a step closer and she noticed he was holding a rose in his hand. She glanced up at him, a curious expression on her face.

He stared at her lips a moment and gulped, trying to gather his nerves. By Andraste, he was bad at this. "I, uh, here," he said, thrusting the flower in her direction.

She startled a moment before taking the rose, peering at with a raised brow. "What is this?" she asked, confused.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "A flower. I picked it back in Lothering. I, uh, thought you might like it?" He phrased the statement like a question, hesitating to meet her eyes.

She blushed. "You are giving me a rose…" she said, voice soft.

Alistair nodded. "It was such a lovely thing surrounded by the taint and darkness. It reminded me of you," he whispered, taking a few steps closer.

Leliana looked into his golden eyes, and couldn't stop herself from moving forward. Her hand reached up, almost on it's own accord, and she touched his cheek. He had a light bit of stubble that pricked against her palm and his skin was smooth beneath her fingertips. She was close enough that only a breath of air stood between them and he leaned down, lips parted, eyes half-closed. She stood on tip-toe and reached up to meet him, thoughts of her mission gone in a haze. His lips slowly caressed her own in a soft, hesitant motion and she put her hand on the back his head, angling it so she could move her tongue in, dancing with his own.

She could tell he'd never been kissed before and enjoyed the feeling that she was his first. After a moment, he pulled back, slightly breathless. "Maker's breath but you are beautiful," he breathed.

Someone cleared their throat behind him and they both jumped apart at the sound.

"Eilonwy's awake. We should get on with the Joining," Carver mumbled awkwardly.

Alistair nodded quickly. "Uh, right. For the dwarf. Right," he replied, equally as awkward.

Leliana giggled behind her hand and gave Alistair a playful shove. "Go on, do your Grey Warden thing, and we can talk later, yes?"

He smiled, a light blush on his cheeks and she reached up and kissed his chin. Carver groaned and walked away and when Alistair followed, his walk was a little bit more confident than normal.


End file.
